The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in El Dorado County, CA
El Dorado County is home to 192,700 residents and includes South Lake Tahoe and Placerville · Updated November 2026
Is El Dorado County, CA safe?
Yes. Crime is low across most of the US, and lower still in El Dorado County: an overall CrimeGrade™ of A, safer than the neighborhoods where 70% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within El Dorado County run from A+ to C+, so check the map or the safest and least safe places below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 910 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
70% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than El Dorado County as a whole, and 30% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. El Dorado County scores 910.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in El Dorado County, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in El Dorado County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in El Dorado County
Robberies are uncommon. El Dorado County has robberies at less than half the US rate: 0.24 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
The safest and most dangerous places in El Dorado County
Nearly every part of El Dorado County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across El Dorado County run from A+ to C+; 82% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
99%
A or B 99%C 1%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Cities and towns in El Dorado County with at least 1,000 residents. Ranked by overall CrimeGrade™; beside each grade is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer), and the other numbers are residents.
Across the county, the Cool area has the least crime and the South Lake Tahoe area the most.
Crime rates and types in El Dorado County
CrimeGrade™ estimates El Dorado County has about 21 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 43% less than the US as a whole and 46% less than California.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in El Dorado County, about 40% of everything reported, and it also accounts for the largest share of what crime costs here.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in El Dorado County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across El Dorado County, 2022 to 2024.
In El Dorado County, 48% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 42% of them, against 31% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (48%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (38%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (42%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (34%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (37%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Homes (54%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for burglary.
How El Dorado County compares with nearby counties
El Dorado County has less crime than 8 of its 10 nearest counties; only Alpine County and Amador County have less.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from El Dorado County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, El Dorado County is safer than 70% of them.
Night lighting, jobs and walkability in El Dorado County
Two things set El Dorado County apart: it has 41% of the land where people live lit at night, against 78% nationally, and 30 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole. Places like that tend to report less theft and vandalism, and they run low here.
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.41% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 89% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.30 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 87% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 92% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D- (8 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 86% of Americans
Show all 6
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.4.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Lower than for 81% of Americans
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.5% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 80% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.9.8 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Lower than for 63% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs El Dorado County
Crime costs El Dorado County about $656 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 46% less than the US figure of $1,205. The total is about $49 million a year.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost rises to about $154 million a year, or $799 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$4.6 million
$24
Rape
$4.8 million
$25
Robbery
$1.4 million
$7
Assault
$21 million
$107
Burglary
$2.7 million
$14
Theft
$5.9 million
$31
Vehicle theft
$4.7 million
$24
Arson
$790,000
$4
Vandalism
$4.0 million
$21
Total
$49 million
$256
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in El Dorado County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in El Dorado County, CA average a SchoolGrade of A-: 47% of students test proficient, against 45% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in El Dorado County on SchoolGrade
